The partnership, brokered by OMD media agency, has scooped the top prize in the Lifestyle, Luxury & Fashion category at this year’s World Media Awards, beating stiff competition from Prada, and luxury watch brands Audemars Piguet, Zenith and the highly commended ‘Viva La Vulva’ campaign from Bodyform.

The “What does performance mean to you?” campaign for Levi’s was built around Levi’s “performance” denim product. It addressed both a decline in menswear sales and the cultural movement away from traditional tropes of masculinity and what it means to ‘perform’ as a man.

Huck’s editorial team identified the unfiltered voices of men who are making a change in the world. Working with three men who represented modern masculinity across different cultures: UK, Russia and Germany, through an original film titled ‘Not a Hero’ , and editorial series of words and pictures on Huckmag.com, and a far-reaching brand campaign through Levi’s owned channels. The partnership was activated in 9 markets across Europe and achieved a completed view average of 28% and delivered 73% more pages views than planned.

In a first for Levi’s, TCO re-purposed the partnership assets to highlight the functional benefits of Levi’s Performance range, create a bespoke suite of display advertising for an advertising campaign highlighting the innovative & functional attributes of the jeans, and linking it back to the stories of our three men. These saw an increase of 40% CTR for vs. the classic Levi’s product ads. Demonstrating the power of original storytelling and authentic lifestyle imagery vs. product shots.

The campaign generated strong brand uplift results with an increase of 6% for men considering Levi’s as a culturally relevant brand.

The partnership has also been shortlisted for best campaign led by content at the Festival of Media M&M global awards.